A Catastrophic Lack of Explanatory Power

I squared off against the ‘Queen of Blood,’ channeling my Magic Power into my Jet-black Blade.

"Wait, what!?"

At that exact moment, my mana went haywire. I tried to dial back the output to get a handle on it, but the energy had already entered a full-blown Frenzy. It refused to settle down.

"Ghh...!"

"Lady Beta!?"

A wave of pain—as nostalgic as it was loathsome—rippled through my entire body.

Looking down at the wound where the Blood Arrowhead had pierced me, I watched as my skin began to rot into a sickly black.

This was it... the Symptoms of Possession.

The second I realized what was happening, I pivoted my control method. The turbulence smoothed out a little, but the mana was still acting like a bucking bronco. It was nearly impossible to manage.

Then, the ‘Queen of Blood’ made her move.

She conjured a massive Blood Mass above her head, packing it with so much Magic Power that the very air began to vibrate.

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."

My voice cracked. That thing was way more powerful than her last shot, and I was in no condition to dodge.

Suddenly, a scream rang out from behind me.

"Claire!? Stay with me!"

I glanced back. Claire was in Milia's arms, and her wounds were turning black too.

Great. Just perfect. Everything was officially the worst.

The compressed Blood Mass overhead looked like it was a split second away from detonating.

"Master... I’m so sorry..." I whimpered, tears stinging my eyes—and then, Claire’s eyelids flickered.

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I was dreaming.

Specifically, I was floating in a void of endless White Space. Just me, myself, and I. There wasn't another soul—or object—in sight.

The only thing I could hear was the steady thump-thump of my own heart.

"...Can you hear me?"

A voice drifted from somewhere. I looked up.

"Can you hear my voice...?"

Okay, I definitely wasn't imagining it that time.

I turned toward the sound and saw a Black-haired Woman standing there. Her Violet Eyes were fixed right on me.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I’ve come to save you."

"Save me?"

"Yes. You."

The woman with the Violet Eyes shifted her gaze to my body.

"Wait, what is this!?"

My skin was turning black. I’d seen this before—a nightmare I thought I’d escaped.

"No way... is this Possession!?"

"Strictly speaking, not quite. The symptoms you call Possession were already treated by him."

"Fully cured? Wait, who’s 'him'?"

"You should know him quite well."

"I really don't. Who is he?"

The woman just gave me a mysterious, meaningful smile.

"Your body is going to rot away very soon. So, I’m going to lend you a bit of my strength."

"Hold on! I have no idea what’s happening!"

"Yeah, explanations aren't really my forte."

"Please! Just tell me what’s going on with my body!"

"Well, to put it simply... you unluckily adapted and then failed to control the output."

"I'm sorry, I still don't get it at all."

"This might take a while, and we’re running low on time. I'll keep it brief."

"Please do."

"So, do you know about evolution? A long time ago, a girl in my Research Laboratory was obsessed with it. Apparently, humans used to be monkeys. Her hypothesis was that monkeys adapted to their environment over eons and eventually became people. I thought it was a fun theory. Who knows if it’s actually true, though."

"Uh-huh... And this is relevant how?"

"Right, right. But then another researcher chimed in, saying that organisms don't actually 'adapt' to their environment at all. She didn't deny the monkey-to-human thing, though. Her take was that there were smart monkeys and dumb monkeys. In a brutal natural world, the smart ones survived, bred, and multiplied. Eventually, the world was nothing but smart monkeys, and after a few million years—poof—humans."

"Okay... so what's the difference? Why are we talking about monkeys?"

"It’s a huge difference! It means the monkeys who were already suited to the environment survived by chance; it’s not like the monkeys decided to change themselves."

"I’m totally lost."

"And so... wait, what was I talking about again?"

"Me? I think?"

"Oh, right! Adaptation!"

"Seriously?"

"Anyway, the kids who happened to adapt to the environment survived and changed. That’s the current form. Even the fact that the bloodline split into two was just a result of adaptation. The Original Blood was too much of a burden; the people carrying it couldn't leave descendants and died out. The Divided Blood clearly split into two distinct traits. And now, those two types of blood are trying to adapt inside you. Usually, Divided Blood doesn't adapt easily, but unfortunately, you've got the talent for it. And even more unfortunately, you have no idea how to control it. So, the blood is going into a Frenzy and wrecking your body—oh, looks like time's up."

"Wait, wait! You were just getting to the important part! Agh, ow!?"

A sharp pain shot through my hand. On the back of it, a complex Magic Circle began to glow.

"That Mark should teach you the trick to controlling it."

"Oh... it’s healing."

The Black Bruise on my skin began to fade away.

"Time’s up. Things are getting pretty dicey out there."

"Yeah, we probably could have skipped that whole monkey story, couldn't we?"

"I’m going to borrow your body for a bit. I can't use my full power, but..."

As she spoke, the woman began to fade into a mist.

"Wait! What's your name!?"

"I am Aurora..."

"Aurora... why are you helping me?"

"Because you are his—"

Her figure vanished before her voice could reach me.

"What is her deal? Seriously. And who is 'he'...? Is he the one who cured my Possession? I missed out on every single important detail!"

I stood there, grumbling to myself in the middle of the empty white void.

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My eyelids fluttered open in Milia’s arms.

My eyes were no longer their usual color. They were dyed a stunning, vibrant violet.